A report has emerged that suggests the big screen return of Judge Dredd is in big trouble...
Uh-oh. One of the films we’re most looking forward to in 2012 is the new big screen adventure for Judge Dredd, Dredd, starring Karl Urban. But our anticipation can’t help but be tainted by the stories emerging surrounding the film.
Specifically, that according to the Los Angeles Times, director Pete Travis “has not been involved in the current editing phase of the movie”.
The film was shot earlier in the year, but there’s inevitably extensive post-production work involved. And in this case, the Times is reporting “creative disagreements with producers and executives”, which have basically led to Travis’ apparent departure from the project. The article uses the word "dismissal", then saying of Travis that "he is keeping up with progress via the Internet".
The Times’ sources suggest that Alex Garland, the film’s screenwriter and co-producer, is effectively running the editing room, and may even seek to be named as a co-director on the film. We can’t corroborate that for certain, and the Los Angeles Times failed to get a response from either Garland or Travis’ representatives.
If Garland is seeking a co-director credit, or if one is being sought for him, it’d be an extraordinary move, given that we don’t think he shot a frame of the movie (even on a film like Waterworld, where director Kevin Reynolds departed the project in the editing phase, he still got sole directing credit). But it’s a very rare move for the original director to be kept out of the editing process altogether, and that suggests a problem, if true.
The end product may yet end up fine when it arrives in September 2012. But this is a worrying story. More here.
Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.